Boys lacrosse is a contact game played by ten players: a goalie, three defensemen, three midfielders and three attackmen. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal. The team scoring the most goals wins.

Each team must keep at least four players, including the goalie, in its defensive half of the field and three in its offensive half. Three players (midfielders) may roam the entire field.

Generally, high school games are 48 minutes long, with 12-minute quarters. Youth games are 32 minutes long, with eight-minute quarters. Each team is given a two-minute break between the first and second quarters, and the third and fourth quarters. Halftime is ten minutes long.

Teams change sides between periods. Each team is permitted two timeouts each half. The team winning the coin toss chooses the end of the field it wants to defend first.

The players take their positions on the field: four in the defensive clearing area, one at the center, two in the wing areas and three in their attack goal area.

Boys lacrosse begins with a face-off. The ball is placed between the sticks of two squatting players at the center of the field. The official blows the whistle to begin play. Each face-off player tries to control the ball. The players in the wing areas can run after the ball when the whistle sounds. The other players must wait until one player has gained possession of the ball, or the ball has crossed a goal area line, before they can release.

Center face-offs are also used at the start of each quarter and after a goal is scored. Field players must use their crosses to pass, catch and run with the ball. Only the goalkeeper may touch the ball with his hands. A player may gain possession of the ball by dislodging it from an opponent’s crosse with a stick check. A stick check is the controlled poking and slapping of the stick and gloved hands of the player in possession of the ball.

All body contact must occur from the front or side, above the waist and below the shoulders, and with both hands on the stick. An opponent’s crosse may also be stick checked if it is within five yards of a loose ball or ball in the air. Aggressive body checking is discouraged. No take-out body checks are permitted at ANY MBYLL level. No type of body check is permitted at the U9 or U 11 level.
If the ball or a player in possession of the ball goes out of bounds, the other team is awarded possession. If the ball goes out of bounds after an unsuccessful shot, the player nearest to the ball when and where it goes out of bounds is awarded possession.

An attacking player cannot enter the crease around the goal, but may reach in with his stick to scoop a loose ball.

A referee, umpire and field judge supervise field play. A chief bench official, timekeepers and scorers assist.

The following rules are written by the US Lacrosse Youth Council as exceptions to the National Federation of State High School Associations' (NFHSA) 2008 Boys' Lacrosse Rules. All rules not modified below are to be considered standard Youth Rules for the 2008 lacrosse season. Youth Rules are printed in the back of the NFHS 2008 Boys Lacrosse Rules Book.

Age DefinitionAs stated in the Bylaws of the US Lacrosse Youth Council (USLYC), eligibility for participation in U-15 events sanctioned by US Lacrosse and its Youth Council will be based on the following criteria:

Youth players will be age 15 years and under in grade 8 or below and further qualify as follows in order to participate in USLYC sanctioned youth lacrosse activities: (a) player has not attained 15 years of age as of December 31st in the year preceding a USLYC sanctioned event; and (b) the player has not participated in any high-school program as a member of a high school freshmen, junior varsity, or varsity team.

Leagues may be organized by age or grades. Physical maturity should be considered when grouping players. If your program has enough players, the age/grade groups should play separately. The following is an example, with ages determined as of December 31st in the year preceding the USLYC sanctioned event:

Middle School:Senior Division: Under 15/8th grade. May have competitive divisions grouped by ability.Junior Division: Under 13/6th and 7th grade. May have competitive divisions grouped by ability.

Note: Players 12 years old or 6th grade may have difficulty playing with 14 year olds or 8th grade boys.

Elementary School:Lightning Division: Under 11/4th and 5th grade. Non-competitive. Ages and grades may play together. Multiple teams within a program should be balanced.Bantam Division: Under 9/2nd and 3rd grade. Non-competitive. Ages and grades may play together. Multiple teams within a program should be balanced.

10 players per side on the field, however games can be played with as few as 7 per side on the field if coaches agree. All USLYC sponsored events will be played with the regulation 10 players per side.

NFHSA Rule 1, Section 2 — The Field
The lacrosse playing field shall be rectangular, 110 yards long and between 53 1/3 and 60 yards wide.

Field

Play on regulation size field is preferred; however the coaches and officials can agree to play on any size field available. USLYC sponsored events will be played on regulation size fields for all groups.

NFHSA Rule 1, Section 6 — Equipment: Crosse - Dimensions
The Crosse shall be an overall fixed length of either 40 to 42 inches (short crosse) or 52 to 72 inches (long crosse), except for the goalkeeper's crosse, which may be a length of 72 inches or less.

Spectators and fans will be placed on the opposite side of the field from the table and bench areas. If the field is laid out in a manner that does not allow spectators and fans to be located on the far side of the field, the referee can waive this requirement. When stands or seating facilities are not provided on the opposite side of the field, spectators, fans, and parents will observe the 6-yard spectator limit line on the far side of the field.

a. Home teams are responsible for contrasting jersey colors and will wear pinnies if needed.

Responsibilities of the home team

b. Sideline Managers - Each team will be asked to provide a designated Sideline Manager (one adult per team, on site, per game-day contest) to help encourage, maintain and manage the sportsmanlike behavior of spectators and fans. See the "Boys’ Youth Rules Addendum", below, for further information.

b. Lightning and Bantam Divisions- four quarters, 12 minute running clock, and one overtime running clock period of 15 minutes, no sudden victory.

c. Overtime- in the event of a tie, two (2) four (4) minute (sudden victory) overtime periods will be played. If, after two (2) overtime periods the score is tie, additional sudden victory overtime periods may be played until a winner is determined; provided time permits and coaches and officials are in agreement.

National Federation of State High School Associations
Rule 3 - Sections 1, 3 and 4

d. Timeouts-two (2) timeouts are permitted per half.

National Federation of State High School Associations
Rule 3, Section 28 - Team timeouts

Rule 4 - Play of the GameThe game is to be played with emphasis on the proper development of stick, team, and sportsmanship skills:

a. All divisions will follow NFHS rules with the following exception:

No 20- or 10-second count

National Federation of State High School Associations
Rule 4, Section 14 - Advancing the ball beyond the defensive-area line
Rule 4, Section 15 - Advancing the ball into the goal area

b. Youth Division. Time serving penalties are enforced and man up situations are permitted in all divisions except the Bantam Division, where there are no time-serving penalties; instead the player must be substituted and the ball awarded to the other team at the point of the infraction.

National Federation of State High School Associations
Rule 7, Sections 1,2, &3

In any game and at any point during a game when there is a four-point lead, the team that is behind will be given the ball at the midfield line in lieu of a face-off as long as the four-point lead is maintained, unless waived by the coach of the trailing team.

National Federation of State High School Associations
Rule 4, Section 3 - Facing off

Body checking is permitted in Senior and Junior Divisions; however, no take-out checks are permitted by any player. A take out check is defined as any check in which the player lowers his head or shoulder with the force and intent to put the other player on the ground.

Players in the Junior and Senior divisions may make contact in an upright position within five yards of the ball. No body checking of any kind (including man/ball "clear the body" type pushing) is permitted in the Lightning and Bantam Division. If a loose ball is not moving, the referee may re-start play following the alternate possession rule.

Personal Foul/Slashing - For Lightning and Bantam Divisions: Any poke check making contact with an opponent (other than the gloved hand while holding the stick) will be considered a slash. Also, any one-handed check will be considered a slash for the Bantam Division.

NFHSA Rule 5, Section 9 — Unsportsmanlike conduct

Personal fouls are to be taken seriously. In addition to the NFHSA rules, any player or coach who uses derogatory or profane language (starting with "damn") on the field or bench, whether addressing a player, coach or referee may receive: first offense, 1 to 3-minute non-releasable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty; second offense a 3-minute non-releasable expulsion foul.

NFHSA Rule 5, Section 11 — Ejection

Ejection FoulsRULE 5 SECTION 11

Players illegally playing down to any division will be ejected for the season and the team will be eliminated from any playoffs and ineligible for any titles or awards.

Rule 6 - Technical FoulsNFHSA Rule 3, Section 10 — Offensive stalling

Offensive stalling shall be enforced for the Junior and Senior Divisions; however this rule will be waived for Lightning and Bantam Divisions.

Senior and Junior Divisions: the team with the lead must keep the ball in the goal area during the last two minutes of the game. Lightning and Bantam Divisions are excused from this rule.

Rule 7 - Penalty EnforcementNFHSA Rule 7, Sections 1, 2 & 3

Time Serving Penalties

RULE 7 SECTIONS 1, 2 & 3
Time serving penalties are enforced and man up situations are permitted in all divisions except the Bantam Division, where there are no time-serving penalties; instead the player must be substituted for and the ball awarded to the other team at the point of the infraction.

Game Termination

Boys' Youth Rules Addendum The US Lacrosse Youth Council has endorsed the addition of the following guidelines intended to address the issues of proper conduct both on and off the field at boys' youth lacrosse events. These guidelines are designed to support the kind of environment for our youth athletes that will keep them playing lacrosse and provide them with such a positive experience that they will remain in the game and later give back to the sport as coaches, officials, and parents who encourage their own children to play. The guidelines are considered fully in force for the 2008 lacrosse season, and US Lacrosse is supporting them with training and expert resources found at the US Lacrosse Web site at http://www.uslacrosse.org/official/sportsmanshipcard.phtml.

Guideline 1 — Game Administration (Refers to Rule 1-12)

Spectators and Teams on Opposite Sides of Field

Guideline 2 — Game Personnel [Refers to Rule 2-11]

Sideline Managers

Guideline 3 — Game Personnel [Refers to Rule 1-12]

Auxiliary Officials

Guideline 4 — Game Personnel [Refers to Rule 7-14]

Game Termination

Officials will have authority to terminate a boys' youth game in response to flagrant acts of unsportsmanlike behavior by coaches, athletes, spectators, or fans. A game termination will be the last resort in insuring the players' safety and preserving the integrity of the game. If possible, game officials will issue at least one strong warning that the game is in danger of being terminated. However, it is conceivable that games may be terminated on the first instance of a flagrant unsportsmanlike act. Every effort should be taken to avoid game termination, including the enforcement of existing rules for team-conduct penalties, unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties, and ejection fouls. Mechanics for terminating a game for flagrant unsportsmanlike behavior can be found at the US Lacrosse webpage referenced above. All games terminated by a US Lacrosse Official, will result in a 1-0 victory for the team that is innocent of the terminal offense(s). It is recommended that the game should count in league statistics as a full game, and all goals, assists, saves, and other team statistics should count toward team and league records.

Each youth lacrosse team will be asked provide one adult who will be trained as an Auxiliary Youth Official. In the event that one or both of the scheduled officials does not appear to perform officiating duties, the Auxiliary Official(s) would be asked to referee the game. The Auxiliary Official could be an active parent attending his or her child's game or another adult affiliated with the organization or town hosting the event. The Auxiliary Official will have completed US Lacrosse Level 1 Officials Training for boys'/men's lacrosse and have active membership status in US Lacrosse as an official, but will not be assigned a schedule of league games.Each youth lacrosse team will be asked to provide a designated Sideline Manager (one adult per team, on site, per game-day contest) to help encourage, maintain and manage the sportsmanlike behavior of spectators and fans. These adults would be responsible for insuring that the spectators and fans support the athletes, coaches and officials in a positive manner and refrain from behavior not in conformity with the US Lacrosse Code of Conduct. The Sideline Managers will receive training prior to these contests by reviewing the document "Sideline Manager Job Description" provided by US Lacrosse and the US Lacrosse - Positive Coaching Alliance, available online at: http://www.uslacrosse.org/official/sportsmanshipcard.phtml, or by requesting a paper copy of this document through their local US Lacrosse Chapter. Sideline managers will introduce themselves to the officials prior to the coin toss, and follow those procedures outlined in the Sideline Manager Job Description, found at the referenced US Lacrosse website location. Sideline Managers will notify an unruly fan or spectator that unsportsmanlike behavior may lead to ejection and/or a game cancellation by the officials, under Game Termination - Guideline 4.Spectators and fans will be placed on the opposite side of the field from the table and bench areas. If the field is laid out in a manner that does not allow spectators and fans to be located on the far side of the field, the referee can waive this requirement. When stands or seating facilities are not provided on the opposite side of the field, spectators, fans, and parents will observe the 6-yard spectator limit line on the far side of the field.Officials will have authority to terminate a boys' youth game in response to flagrant acts of unsportsmanlike behavior by coaches, athletes, spectators, or fans. See the "Boys’ Youth Rules Addendum, below, for further information.

RULE 3 SECTION 10

Unsportsmanlike Conduct
RULE 5 SECTION 9RULE 1 SECTIONS 6 & 9.

Equipment will conform to NFHSA crosse dimensions and equipment requirements, including NOCSAE — approved helmets, with the following modifications:

RULE 1 SECTION 2. RULE 1 SECTION 1.

NFHSA Rule 1, Section 1 — The Game
Lacrosse is played by two teams of 10 players each.